"Childhood biographies of sixteen changemakers in government, social activism, environmental justice, and the arts"--

"For at least forty years, Calvin Trillin has commiteed blatant acts of funniness all over the place"--Jacket flap. A collection of Trillin's writings, arranged roughly by category.

Alexis de Tocqueville was one of the greatest political thinkers of all time. Born a French aristocrat, he lost nearly his entire family in the Reign of Terror, and spent most of his adult life struggling for liberty under the unsuccessful regimes of nineteenth-century France. He was a man of apparent contradictions: an aristocrat who believed in democracy, a conservative with liberal ideals, an agnostic with Christian faith in humanity. At age 25...

"Fast track up the political ladder, fast cars, fast women--that's Garrett McKettrick. Make that was. A scandal has brought him home to Blue River, Texas, a place where a man can slow down, take stock and plan his next move. Which doesn't include staying at the family ranch with his brothers. A city boy, Garrett doesn't think he has the land in his blood. But Blue River has other attractions, like his former high school nemesis, Julie Remington. Now...

True-crime writer Denise Burke, whose husband is a White House adviser, investigates murder in a Rhode Island town, heavy with tension between Wasps and Ethnics. She has an affair with a congressman who tipped her to the crime and who is subsequently murdered. By the author of Masters of Illusion.

She's the iconic leader who puts Donald Trump in his place, the woman with the toughness to take on a lawless president and defend American democracy. Ever since the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections, Nancy Pelosi has led the opposition with strategic mastery and inimitable elan. It's a remarkable comeback for the veteran politician who for years was demonized by the right and taken for granted by many in her own party--even...

In the midst of the presidential election, tensions mount in the White House as Frank and Claire continue to navigate their political careers and redefine their relationships, particularly with each other.

"A sweeping tale of conspiracy theories, assassinations, and twisted obsessions -- the much anticipated masterpiece from Juan Gabriel Vasquez. The Shape of the Ruins is a masterly story of conspiracy, political obsession, and literary investigation. A man is arrested at a museum in Colombia for attempting to steal the bullet-ridden suit of an assassin. The incident barely makes the news though the political murder this assassin committed years before...

When Fred Flarsky reunites with his first crush, one of the most influential women in the world, Charlotte Field, he charms her. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly.